


Don't Tell Me the Odds

by Pan_2000, Raspberry_Blond



Series: Tales of the Resistance [14]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Post-TLJ, Temptation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2020-10-05 17:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20492555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pan_2000/pseuds/Pan_2000, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raspberry_Blond/pseuds/Raspberry_Blond
Summary: (Takes place after TLJ). When Rey tells the Resistance about going to Kylo for help, Finn finds himself angry and unable to understand. Can he and Rey reach common ground, or is this a bridge too far?





	1. The Tale of GS-926

**Author's Note:**

> Tbh, this story is in response to the idea that Finn would just be okay with Rey admitting going to Kylo in TLJ. I don't think he would. This is my version of how it could go.

“Poe, what’s it like to be loved?”

Finn saw the startled look on Poe Dameron’s face. He’d been lowering himself in a chair opposite Finn’s bunk and stopped midway in an uncomfortable-looking crouch.

“Loved? Buddy, what do you mean?”

“_Loved_. To know without any doubts someone loves you, no matter what. What’s that like?” Finn looked at his friend with solemn eyes. “Like when you’re … when you have parents. I never had that, not that I remember, anyway. What was that like?”

Poe looked at him in silence while slowly lowering himself the rest of the way into the chair. He raked his hands over his hair, making a mess of it. Somewhat startled, Finn noticed a few strands of grey among the dark curls and felt a sympathy for the strain his friend had to be under. General Organa was not still entirely recovered from the attack on the Raddus and had transferred a number of duties to Poe, restored to his original rank and now de facto head of the Resistance.

Finn had not wanted to burden his friend with any of his problems, but he reminded himself, Poe had come to _him_.

Still, Poe was saying nothing, just studying Finn with an expression that blended sadness with fatigue. Finn wondered if he’d overstepped. Poe didn’t talk much about his family, and Finn could respect him wanting to keep some things private. But the question he’d asked had been one gnawing in his brain since yesterday’s briefing meeting and beyond. It pursued him in the fresher, in the mess, in the short meetings he had with Connix about training Resistance members in blaster technique, in his bunk …

“I’m sorry if I’m bringing up bad memories,” murmured Finn, looking away. “It’s just … I don’t know how else to explain what I want to know …”

“No, you’re fine. It’s fine. I just …” Poe cleared his throat. “My parents, huh? Well, my mom was kriffing awesome. A lot of people say your mom’s your first love if you’re a guy, but for me, my mother _introduced_ me to my first love – flying. We’d go to the airfields on the outskirts of our town and she’d sit me on her lap in the cockpit of her old X-Wing and tell me how she felt so free in the air. I knew exactly what she meant.” His face lit up with a smile of remembrance. “I couldn’t even reach the controls with my hands, but I could understand exactly. And when she took me up for the first time … I never wanted to come down. I knew I’d found where I’d always want to be. Flying.”

He took a breath. “When she died, my dad sort of became a little more protective of me. Understandable, I guess. I was eight, getting into things and wanting to fly and not really processing that Mamma was gone forever and just … wanting to be with her again. I scared him a little … okay, a lot … until I was about 17 and started training for the NR Starfleet. He never discouraged me from being a pilot. He was always supportive, even when he was a little worried for me. When I told him I was resigning my commission in the Starfleet to join Le--, General Organa, he just sighed and said he’d always hoped that when he and my mother and Leia and her brother and Han Solo and all the Rebellion had battled the Empire, it would be the last time there’d be war. And he was sad that he was wrong but happy that I was so much like my mother that my first thought was that I had to be in the fight.”

Poe took another deep breath before centering his gaze on Finn. “I never had to wonder if my parents loved me or had my best interests at heart. I’m a little ashamed that it took nearly 32 years and meeting you for me to realize I was a lucky kriffer and not everyone had that sort of reassurance. But Finn … you have to know that people here care about you. You have a home in the Resistance. This is never going to be like what you experienced in the First Order. You have a _family_ now.”

Finn sighed softly. “I didn’t mean to imply that I thought you didn’t care about me. Or the General. Or most of the people on this ship. I was just … thinking of something else.”

“Some_thing _or some_one_?”

Finn was silent, and he turned his face slightly away.

“Finn, is this about Rey? About what she told us yesterday at the briefing?”

Finn continued to stare at nothing. He had successfully avoided thinking about the conversation that had plunged him into the abyss until that moment, and now he was there again. Back in the lounge area of the Falcon, which was serving as a meeting room for the Resistance members who had survived the Battle of Crait. Back in that uncomfortable chair, listening in disbelief as General Organa, her voice still shadowed with pain and fatigue, stood next to a stiffly standing and somewhat nervous-looking Rey.

Finn had wondered about that. They’d only had a quick chance to talk after Crait. She was studying ancient Jedi texts she’d “liberated” from Ahch-To, and he’d been helping assess the Resistance’s firepower along with checking on Rose’s recovery. She was conscious and had been up and moving around, much to his relief, and they’d had several talks. Finn had longed to have a deep talk with Rey, but there hadn’t been time.

But then the briefing happened.

The general only said that Rey had something that she felt the entire Resistance needed to know about her adventures on Ahch-To and how she’d come to find and save what was left of the Resistance on Crait. Finn had felt a hollowness in his gut when, before she stepped to the center of the crowd, Rey had looked over at him, her eyes filled with trepidation.

And then she began to speak.

Finn listened first in disbelief, then in utter shock, and then with a growing anger that threatened to choke him. When Rey had finished, there had been murmurs among those gathered, but Finn found he could not say a word. He could feel several pairs of eyes on him, but he kept his face bent toward the floor. When the General adjourned the meeting, Finn pushed out of the room, hardly aware of where he was going until he found himself in the bunkroom he was sharing with Poe and Nien Nunb. He’d awoken that morning to a sour feeling in his stomach, but he went about his day, visiting Rose and avoiding her questions about his odd mood, as she had not been at the meeting.

Finn figured word would spread soon enough and felt a relief to be in the presence of someone who was not staring at him with pointed curiosity or muted pity. There had been one moment that he’d run into Rey in the mess, but he turned and escaped before she could say anything, but not before he saw her face crumple. That had made the sour feeling increase, but Finn had pushed it down, tapping in some ways in to his Stormtrooper training, cautioning himself to get the job done.

_Just get it done. You can fall apart later._

He’d done that, checking and double-checking the remaining arsenal, keeping his appointment with Connix who, to her credit, asked no embarrassing questions. He’d not wanted to risk running into Rey again, so he’d grabbed a ration bar from a pile on the dejarik board and prepared for an early night.

But then Poe had come into their shared room, his dark eyes full of concern, and the dam had burst.

“Finn?”

Poe’s voice brought him out of the shallow trance he’d been in, remembering and suffering from those memories. Finn turned his head and met Poe’s stare.

“Yeah. It’s about Rey.”

Finn heard the tension in his voice and swallowed hard.

“Why? Why did she do _that_? After all _he _did? After what we saw _him _do to Han Solo? Why would she just … _trust_ him? Why would she think he’d be any help to the Resistance? He’d killed an entire village of people just because they were there. People … regular people, who didn’t have the Force like he and Snoke had, didn’t mean anything to him. Sometimes he’d tell Phasma to throw cadets out of the airlock if they racked up a certain amount of demerits because it would _encourage _the rest of us to be perfect. Why in the kriff would she _go _to _him_? Send herself to him like she was a Cloddogran race whip?”

Finn was breathing heavily and sweat beaded his brow. He swiped at his forehead and looked dismally at Poe.

“On Takodana, when I saw him take her, I ran as fast as I could and knew I had to help her,” he said softly. “And she just … goes to him. And I’m supposed to just be okay with that? I’m supposed to just understand and shrug it off and move on?”

Poe sighed and rested a gentle hand on Finn’s shoulder. “I understand that you might be disappointed by what Rey did. But keep in mind, she could have kept this to herself, and she didn’t. Rey _wanted_ everyone to know what happened. Even if it meant that some of us might think differently about her …”

“Do _you_? Do you think differently about her now?”

Poe rubbed his chin. “I … don’t know.”

“Kylo Ren tortured you,” Finn said quietly. “If we hadn’t escaped, you would have died on the Finalizer.”

“I know that.” Poe’s voice was just as soft. “I also know Kylo Ren tortured Rey, too.”

Finn let out a frustrated breath. “All the more reason her doing this makes no kriffing sense! But _I’m_ the crinker, right? I don’t have any right to be mad, and if I am, then _I’m _the bad guy.”

“I don’t think anybody thinks that, Finn,” said Poe. “I know _I_ don’t. I just don’t think that this was an easy decision for Rey, telling everyone that she went to Kylo Ren for help. That doesn’t mean that it was a good idea in the first place, but …”

Poe shrugged somewhat helplessly. “I really don’t know what to tell you, buddy. If you’re upset, then that’s valid. But I think that maybe you should take a while to think more about if you really want to shut Rey out over this. You risked your life to rescue her from Starkiller. You were willing to leave us to find her after D’Qar. I saw the way you two hugged each other on Crait. Do you really want to let a bad mistake come between you?”

Finn picked at a loose thread on the tunic he was wearing. Connix said that they were going to pick up supplies soon at a Resistance-friendly outpost on the planet of Batuu at the edge of the Outer Rim. Finn hoped he could pick up some clothes, clothes just for _him_. Poe had been generous, but Finn wanted something he could call his own, even if it was just a shirt and trousers.

“There was a rough moment on the Supremacy,” said Finn, concentrating on the thread, hearing Poe’s quiet breathing in the small space. “Me, Rose, and the guy we picked up from Canto Bight were on the lift. There were a bunch of Stormtroopers there. I figured we’d be okay. We were in officers’ uniforms, and ‘troopers aren’t supposed to speak to officers unless and until spoken to. The least that could happen if a ‘trooper broke protocol was a day without rations. And usually you wouldn’t get off that lightly.

“But there was a ‘trooper there who recognized me. GS-926. I felt … I felt like it was over. That we’d have to start shooting and even if we got out of that lift, the alarm would be sounded and we wouldn’t be able to place the mines and the whole mission would be farkled.” Finn paused. “GS-926 spoke to me … said he was surprised to see me as a captain, because he’d never thought I was officer material. And the slapped me on the ass.”

“He did _what_?”

“Yeah.” Finn gnawed his lip. “Touching an officer without permission … that’s almost always grounds for reconditioning, but only if you had a spotless record. Otherwise … you’d be the next one up for Ren’s airlock show. But GS-926 never really gave a kriff about regs. He was older … maybe your age … and he had this weird accent. People thought he might have come from Wild Space, but I heard Hux say once he’d rather be turned into a droid than go on a mission beyond the Outer Rim, so it’s doubtful the First Order ever did any _recruiting_ there. Anyway, people stayed out of 926’s way. Even in the sims he was bloodthirsty. He was sent on really tough missions, and he always talked about all the notches he had on his blaster. The killing … he enjoyed it.”

Poe made a disgusted sound. Finn glanced at his friend and then away.

“I think even his captain was a little afraid of him. GS-926 always pulled soft duty shifts. Cleaning out Hux’s wardroom or overseeing the delivery of provisions for the officers. I didn’t like him, but I always liked seeing him in my duty rotation because that meant that whatever the job was, it wasn’t going to be too dirty or smelly or dangerous. He liked to talk and I’d just tune him out mostly but then one shift, he said to me, ‘Eight-seven, you’re a good one, but you’re never gonna make an officer. You’re too karkin’ _hopeful_.’”

“Hopeful? What was that supposed to mean?”

“I didn’t know. I thought it was just 926 being 926. He just tended to say … _things_, you know?”

Finn rubbed his head, thinking not for the first time that maybe he’d let his hair grow out. He was a Resistance member now. Dress code and regs were a thing of the past. Maybe he’d look nice with longer hair. It would be different, anyway.

“I just shrugged and said something about not really knowing if I’d be an officer or not, and then 926 said, ‘No, you can’t be an officer when you keep tryin’ to make somethin’ happen that’s never gonna happen. Slip ain’t never gonna be your friend no matter how much you _hope _he’s gonna be someday.’”

Poe tilted his head. “Who is ‘Slip’?”

Finn paused for a moment. “FN-2003. He was in my cadet corps. His nickname was Slip. I’m not really sure why. Everyone had a nickname in my corps … except me. He wanted to be a good Stormtrooper so bad. And it just wasn’t happening for him. He’d fall behind in sims and would just seem so _lost_. Every time I helped him, Phasma would get mad. We were always told the First Order was only as strong as its weakest link. Phasma told me that by trying to help the weakest link, I made the whole corps weak. It’s not like here, where people help each other and try not to leave anyone behind.”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Poe agreed. “So, this guy was a friend of yours?”

“No.” Finn looked up from the loose thread into Poe’s eyes. “I didn’t have any friends there. That was 926’s point. I could help Slip in the sims and try to show him how to hold his blaster so he wasn’t shooting at an off angle and wasting ammo or how not to get stuck on garbage reclamation patrol, but it didn’t matter. Slip wasn’t my friend and wasn’t going to _be _my friend no matter how much I did for him. He died on Jakku, on that mission where Ren captured you. I saw him die. I had his blood on my helmet.”

He swallowed hard. “When I saw 926 again on that lift and he said again how he didn’t think I was officer material, I knew I should be afraid that our cover was blown, but … the first thing I thought was that he’d been right. All that time, I’d hoped that Slip would see something in me enough to actually _care_. And he never did. He lived not giving a kriff about me and he died that way. And I’m tired, Poe. I’m tired of being _hopeful_ all the time.”

“Finn.” Poe hesitated, appearing to weigh his words. “I never knew this Slip. I have to balance the knowledge that just like you, he was stolen as baby by an evil organization and brought up without love or kindness to kill and was robbed of his chance of a normal life with the fact that _you _were brought up that same way and didn’t let the First Order strip away your humanity. I’m sorry you felt let down by him, but he wasn’t the special person _you_ are.”

Finn returned his attention to the unraveling thread. He felt incredibly weary all of a sudden.

“I can’t tell you how to feel about what Rey did,” continued Poe. “She made a choice and you have the right to make a choice of your own.” Poe paused. “But she’s nothing like this Slip person was. Rey does care about you.”

“I don’t believe that.” Finn’s voice was low, but he looked at Poe with soft, sad eyes. “I _can’t _believe that. Not after what I _saw_. Not after what I _lived_. No one who ... cares about me would ever have gone to him. Would _you _have?”

Poe started to speak, but stopped. Finn was alarmed at the sudden change in his friend’s expression. Poe put a finger to his lips and lifted himself soundlessly out of the chair, going over to the doors leading into the bunk space. They were not quite able to shut, as much of the "non-essential" areas of the Falcon had fallen into even greater disrepair.

Beyond the doors, Finn heard a strange sound. When Poe quickly opened the door, and stuck his body out into the hallway, Finn was able to recognize the sounds. They were sobs.

The sounds faded in tandem with rapidly retreating footsteps.

Poe sighed softly and turned his head toward Finn.

"It was Rey. She was standing outside. I ... think she heard everything."


	2. The Ballad of the Luggabeast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for the delay. RL and fandom issues. Just wanted to mention that I will not read any tie-in material until I am made aware of LF's tie-in plans for Finn. Therefore, I have not read any other comic except the Finn comic and I have read none of the books in the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker series. As a result, some of what is in this chapter and will be in this story will not jive with official canon. Please feel free to treat this as entirely an AU.

Naar Duun, an Ishi Tib who had served ably as the Resistance’s quartermaster since the destruction of the Hosnian system, was one of the many casualties of the Battle of Crait. In the turmoil that followed and the scramble to get away, his loss had been bundled into the grieving for all who had perished not just there, but in the dogfights outside of D’Qar and the initial attack on the Raddus—to say nothing of Admiral Holdo’s eventual sacrifice.

But as the remnants of the Resistance began to take stock of their circumstances, Duun’s absence began to be felt. People weren’t sure how many rations to take during mealtimes, how much water was acceptable to use for drinking or in the fresher, or how much fuel the creaking—but inexplicably sturdy—Falcon had in reserve.

Almost from its inception, the Resistance had already operated on slender means, and the fact that there were now significantly fewer people didn’t make the resources any less meager. In fact, while water was in fairly plentiful supply, even with fewer mouths to feed, food stores were dwindling quickly. Uniforms were becoming ratty, and in a strange about-face, General Organa decided that the Resistance would not go to the outpost on Batuu—at least not yet. Instead, she’d decided that one of the Resistance’s best spies, who had been sent ahead to scout out the terrain, would continue there alone and report back on whether there was fertile ground to regrow the Resistance’s numbers.

Poe had appointed Finn as weapons officer of sorts, putting him in charge of training and getting the Resistance’s ancient blasters in shape for use. It was Finn himself, however, who suggested that he take on quartermaster duties, at least temporarily. As a Stormtrooper, he’d pulled enough rotations in Supply to be a stopgap until there was a permanent replacement for Duun. Besides, he wanted to have something else to do other than staring forlornly at barely functional weapons that were probably older than Chewbacca.

Finn stood in a square of space to the side of the canteen, grimacing over piles of dusty-jacketed ration bars and bormoth-eaten cloth, making tick marks on a flimsi as he counted. While he worked, he reflected on how much waste there had been in the First Order—from whole quik-meal packs jettisoned if they went even a day beyond their expiration date to slightly dented, but still serviceable, Stormtrooper armor.

Once, a shipment of state-of-the-art blasters had arrived that were to be distributed to officers with the rank of lieutenant and up. During a test of the new firepower, one blaster had malfunctioned and had blown two fingers off the hand of a favored captain. Though the rest of the blasters had been sound, the whole cache had been dumped. It was emblematic of the First Order: Perfection, or into the waste-reclamation unit—or deep space, or the reconditioning chamber—you went.

Finn shook his head. He had wandered too much down the corridor of those dark times, and he’d messed up his count. With a sigh, he took a moment to center himself and went back to it. When he got into a rhythm again, his mind turned somewhat reluctantly to the continuing situation—it really could only be called a ‘situation’—with Rey.

In the days since his talk with Poe, Finn noted the truth of his friend’s declaration that the Resistance cared for him and saw him as truly part of them. He also got a sense how Rey’s disclosure had affected others. One of the relief pilots stopped him on the way to the makeshift canteen with a quiet word of warning that it was “crowded” in there and Finn might want to wait to grab his breakfast. It was odd, but Finn had shrugged and moved away. A few minutes later, he saw Rey walking from the direction of the canteen to the side of the ship where that contained her bunk, and he realized what the pilot had done for him. He’d heard secondhand that when she wasn’t pulling piloting duty for the Falcon, Rey was spending most of her time—alone—studying books on the Jedi that she’d found on the island of Ahch-To.

Connix was scheduling shift rotations, and Finn had not found himself in the same rotation with Rey even once. Nor had she sought him out, which had been more of a relief to Finn than he’d expected. It was such a strange thing to consider that from the time he’d awoken from his coma, all he’d wanted was to see her, talk to her, reassure himself that she was alive and okay and still the Rey he’d known and who had been at his side on Starkiller before the hot slice of pain that had made his world go dark. Now, he was actually glad that she was not trying to press the issue.

Eventually, of course, they would have to talk—if nothing else, Rey would have to be included in his target-shooting classes. A lightsaber was nice, but blaster training wouldn’t hurt even the last Jedi. His feelings about what he’d learned had not changed, though a slight curiosity about her reasonings was beginning to mix in with the anger and betrayal. She had said Luke Skywalker refused to help her and she felt she’d had no other choice. Luke Skywalker—the great Jedi Master who seemed more legend than human, General Leia Organa’s brother—_this_ man had _refused _to help? Yet he had been on Crait, sort of, to help the remnants of his sister’s forces escape. Finn couldn’t conceive of all he’d heard about Luke Skywalker’s exploits and heroics and reconcile that image with a man who had supposedly been so hateful to Rey that she thought that going to someone who’d tried to kill her only _days _earlier would be her best, last chance.

Finn sighed himself out of his thoughts, made a final mark on the flimsi, and raked the ration bars into a tidy pile. After another second, he snagged two bars with purple wrapping, their Aurebesh script smudged, and slipped them into his pocked. He went to the refrigeration unit and removed a small container of water. Grabbing two small cups from the table, he patted his pockets, grunted in satisfaction, and went off to the other side of the Falcon to see Rose.

Rose Tico had been one of the first of the injured survivors of Crait to be discharged from Dr. Harter Kalonia’s infirmary, though her injuries had certainly been worrying. She’d sustained a concussion and had broken several ribs. It had taken her a day or so to regain consciousness, and her first moments awake had been disquieting. Rose had momentarily forgotten that her sister, Paige, was dead and had called out for her. A quiet conversation with General Organa had the welcome effect of unlocking her memory, and things settled down after that. Soon afterward, the General again visited Rose’s bedside, this time to promote her to the rank of Lieutenant for heroic services above and beyond the call of duty.

Finn was happy for and proud of Rose—one of those heroic deeds “above and beyond the call of duty” had involved saving his life, after all. He knew he wouldn’t be able to thank her enough for preventing him from doing something permanent, and ultimately, useless. Finn had been shaken when he’d realized that his sacrifice would have done nothing except reduce the Resistance forces by one. The time he’d hoped to buy with his death for Leia’s allies to arrive would have required Leia to have allies _left _willing to come to their aid. 

Rose was recuperating in a storage area that had been converted into an extra bunkroom, and Finn had endeavored to visit her every day. Their time on Canto Bight had been less than satisfactory, and their adventure on the Supremacy ... well, the less said about _that, _the better. And then there was their extremely rocky start when she thought he was “deserting” the Resistance ...

But all of that was in the past, and he was hoping that together, they could draw a line under their earlier adventures and move forward.

Almost from the time her memory had returned, Finn had “lunch” with Rose in her bunkroom. Their initial conversations had been a little stilted, but on the third day or so, Finn had unearthed a datapad of legends and fables that Rose kept in her toolkit. She explained that after their parents had died, she and Paige would read the stories to each other whenever one of them was sick, feeling depressed, feeling lonely, or just wanting to hear a memento of home. He began reading to her, something that Rose seemed to enjoy quite a bit. He also caught her up on decisions made by the Resistance, since she was still not quite well enough to attend the daily meetings Poe held. It was a nice part of his day, he reflected as he reached her room. It allowed him to just forget about things for awhile.

Finn shifted the water to one hand and knocked quietly at the half-open door. He heard a murmured greeting, and he hesitated for a second to balance his items before stepping into the room.

Rose was awake and waiting for him, sitting sideways in her bunk, her legs dangling over the edge. Finn was momentarily stricken by how small she seemed. Her size had never really occurred to him before—but she didn’t look fragile, just diminutive. She was certainly much better than she had been, but the vestiges of her injuries were still in evidence. There was a length of bandage that showed through the armholes of her shirt, and her fringe was brushed back, revealing fading bruises on her forehead.

"Hey."

"Hi. I was expecting you a little earlier."

"Yeah, sorry." He unearthed their meal, handing her a ration bar and setting the container of water gently on a table. "I was doing a supply tally and I sort of lost track of time."

Her face looked unusually grave, and she didn’t smile when he held out a cup of water.

“We’re running short on food, aren’t we?”

Finn sighed as he eased himself into a chair opposite her. Nodded.

“We’ll have to probably start half-rations in another couple of weeks. Maybe sooner. We’re not going to Batuu after all. Not all of us. So we've got to make what we have last as long as possible.”

“What happened? Why aren't we going?”

“The general got some intel that the local population is basically being controlled by some crimelord," said Finn. “She’s pretty sure it’s not someone from the Hutt Cartel or that new Dug syndicate that was kicked off Malastare, but it’s someone. She sent a scout to look things over and see how receptive the locals might be to helping us.”

“A scout? How are they going to get a scout to Batuu if we’re not going there?”

“Poe said she was already assigned to go. Before ... before Crait. After Crait, the General figured we’d go anyway and take our chances. She changed her mind.” Finn frowned into his cup. “The scout’s name is ... Vi Moradi. I don’t think I ever met her. But Poe says she’s one of the best.”

"Vi? Oh.” Rose tore open the wrapper and gnawed at the purple rectangle within. “Yeah, she’s good. Paige went with her on a few missions, said she was a real pro. I’ve never met her, either, but if anyone can figure out what’s going on there, it’s her.”

They ate in silence for a short time. Finn wracked his brain for some topic of conversation, but Rey kept popping up in his conscious mind. Rose had not been at the fateful meeting, but Finn was certain she’d heard the news. It was a small ship, and whispers traveled fast. Finn didn’t think he could discuss ‘the situation’ with Rose. It had been different with Poe—he’d been directly affected by Kylo Ren’s evil. Finn knew that Rose’s planet had been overrun by the First Order, but it was different than what he, Rey, and Poe had faced being on the business side of Ren’s blood-red lightsaber.

“So ... any preference for a story for today? I was thinking maybe ‘Mhrue and the Golden Kaadu’ or ‘The Singing Veradactyl.’ Those titles caught my eye yesterday.”

“Mmm. ‘The Golden Kaadu’ has sort of a sad ending." Rose nibbled at a corner of the bar. "I don’t really remember the other one, but maybe Paige skipped it. Veradactyls kind of creeped her out."

"Can't really blame her. Any other requests, then?"

"Actually, there _is _a story I was hoping to hear today,” Rose gave him a sideways look. “How about, ‘The Luggabeast in the Room?’”

“Uh ..." Finn frowned hard, thinking. "I don’t remember seeing that one in the listing.”

“Well, maybe you know it by another title: ‘Why hasn’t Finn told Rose about what’s going on with him and Rey’?”

He nearly choked on a mouthful of his ration bar. He watched Rose watch him calmly as he gulped water. After a few exploratory throat clearings, Finn regarded her warily.

“I don’t know what there is to tell ...”

“Ah, so you admit there is _something _to tell.”

“I'm not sure what you want me to say.” Finn wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He’d recovered some of his equilibrium, but he had his guard up. “I don’t know what you’ve already heard.”

“I've heard a little.” Rose brushed crumbs off her lap. “Rey came to see me today.”

It was just as well he was done eating, because Finn thought he might choke again. Rey ... had come to see _Rose_? About _this_? About _them_? 

While he’d hoped that Rey and Rose would have a chance to talk, and for Rose to dispel some preconceived notions about Rey, he felt uncomfortable at the thought that they might have discussed _him_.

“Oh. Came to congratulate you on your promotion?”

Rose smiled somewhat sardonically. “You really didn’t tell her anything about Canto Bight, did you? Or about Crait and what you were going to do down there? She said she had to hear about your plan from one of the relief pilots. She had no idea you were going to—”

“—There hasn’t really been a lot of time to talk.” His voice was sharper than he'd intended. “The General hasn’t been well, there’s a ton of things we have to do, I—”

"—I get it. Oh, and I didn’t tell Rey I kissed you, if you were worried about that.”

Finn’s face had flamed hot at the mention of the kiss—the _real _‘Luggabeast in the room’ in his opinion. He’d hoped that he and Rose could just mutually and silently agree to forget that it ever happened. Rose had been delirious, after all, and he had been ... confused.

“I wasn’t ... _worried_ about it,” he muttered. “I just figured ... we’d talk about _that _when you were feeling better. It really doesn't have anything to do with anyone _except_ us.”

“Mmm.” She paused a moment. “Rey said you weren’t speaking to her. Why?”

“You haven’t heard about the debrief about her time away from the Resistance? I thought it’d be all over the ship by now.”

“About Rey going to Kylo Ren for help?” Rose shrugged. “Yeah, _that _I heard. Pamich Goode is in the bunkroom across the hall. She was talking to Connix about it, saw me listening and filled me in.”

Finn’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Well then I don’t have to spell out why I’m not talking to Rey right now, do I?”

Rose bit into her bottom lip. “You of all people should know that I don’t have any love for anyone in or connected to the First Order. But don’t you think you’re being a little harsh? You’re the one who kept telling me that Rey was special and that she would help save us all.”

“Yeah, and ...?”

“_And, _shouldn’t you trust her judgment? She's a kriffing _Jedi_. When I was growing up, my parents told me and Paige stories about the Jedi. I always wanted to meet one. I never thought the one I'd meet would be younger than me, though.” Rose chuckled beneath her breath. "Or would be the last one. But the stories of what the Jedis did ... or used to do ... don't you think that they'd be working for the greater good? That Rey was? Or _thought_ she was?"

"By going to Kylo Ren?" Finn took a deep breath. “Rose, Ren literally sliced my back open barely a week ago. The only reason I didn't die is that Chewie was able to find us and bring us back to D'Qar before I bled out. Oh and by the way, I was on Starkiller because Ren kidnapped Rey in the first place, and later, he threw her so hard into a kriffing _tree_ that I thought her back was broken on the spot. I _watched _Ren skewer his ... Han Solo. Han wanted to just _talk _and Kylo Ren just ... he was his ...”

He stumbled a little, not sure how many people in the Resistance outside himself, Poe, and Rey knew that Kylo Ren was the son of Han Solo and General Organa.

“... I saw him kill a Resistance fighter and dobbing _war hero_ in cold blood. Not to mention all the people Ren tortured and the village he ordered burned to the ground, with the everyone along with it." Finn heard a crackling noise and realized he was squeezing the empty wrapper of the ration bar. "I don’t know why I have to explain why I’m not happy that Rey thought the best move to make was to go hold hands with a murderer and torturer.”

“She said she felt he would turn to the light and help us. She saw it in a vision. Jedis have those, you know.” Rose paused. “And she didn’t _hold hands _with him. They touched fingers, which is not the same thing at—”

Finn’s eyes went huge. “They did _what_? They touched _what_?”

Rose looked startled. “I thought you said Rey told the Resistance everything?”

“There wasn’t any mention of finger touching!” Finn’s felt his pulse racing. “She actually _touched _him? _Voluntarily_?”

"Well she ... wait, if you didn't know this, why did you say she was holding his hand?"

"It was a kriffing figure of speech! I didn't know she'd actually _done _it."

He had brief flash of memory of Jakku, and Rey holding out her hand to him ... of Rey holding out her hand to be grabbed when the rathtars first struck on the Falcon. He'd thought that hand-holding was their ... thing, somewhat. Something that was uniquely theirs.

But she'd _touched _Kylo Ren?

"Well, she didn't hold his hand! And it wasn't anything you should get spaced over." Rose stared at him hard. “Do you know why Rey came to see me? It was to _thank_ me for saving you. She said she heard that you were only here because of me. She told me that if you’d died, she wouldn’t have wanted to fight anymore. It wouldn’t have been worth it. _Nothing_ would have. And you’re worried because she touched _fingers _with someone? She truly felt was going to turn away from the First Order, Finn. She was wrong, and she knows that she made a mistake, but she honestly believed she could get him to help us.”

Finn looked around the small space, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. These were sentiments that Rey had not shared with him, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about them. Rey was the last Jedi, and the Resistance needed her. He couldn’t conceive of her turning her back on them in any circumstance. By the same token, he couldn’t deny that the knowledge that he meant something more to her than just the person with which she escaped Jakku was ... nice.

The finger-touching stuff, though? He still wasn’t remotely sure what he was supposed to do with _that _information.

"Look, about the kiss. Let’s get this out of the way now. It doesn't really require a deep conversation,” said Rose. “I thought I was going to die on Crait. After I slammed into you, I could feel all this darkness creeping over my brain and I figured ‘Oh, this is it. This is the end.’ And you were there, and so I kissed you and I thought ‘Well, at least now I’ll have something cool to tell Paige when I see her. I kissed _the _Finn!’”

Finn saw the quiet sadness in her eyes that contrasted with the brightness of her words. Despite his anger from the moment before, he reached out to gently squeeze her shoulder.

“But I knew I never really had a chance. You made it clear who had your heart.” She shot him a knowing look and held up a warning hand when he opened his mouth. “No, don’t even try to deny it, not when you were willing to take an escape pod to Maker-knows-where to try to find her. You’re in love with her. That’s okay with me, because I like you, Finn. I really _like_ you. And after talking to her, I like _her_, too. I ... really didn’t want to, but I do. And I _trust_ her. I may have saved your life, but _she _saved all of us who are on this ship now. Without her, the Resistance's cause would really be lost because we'd all be _dead_."

Finn was silent. There wasn't any argument to be made there. 

"You're upset because you think she ... what ... went to him because she likes him more than you?" Her voice was incredulous. "Finn, _please _don't tell me that after an hour's conversation, I know Rey better than you do."

He gave her a stony look. "Don't worry. I wasn't going to tell you that, because you don't."

"Okay, fair enough." She studied him closely. “So then you _know _this wasn’t a Him-versus-You equation. You need to _talk _to her, Finn. She didn’t forget what he’d done to you and she wasn’t _choosing _him over you. It’s what she thought was the best option at the time. I’d tell you everything she told me, but you really need to hear it straight from her. If you’re thinking that Rey went to Kylo Ren because ... I don’t know ... she was devastated by his ‘manly charms’ or something, forget it. It’s not like she asked him to take his shirt off again.”

Finn shot up as if his feet were being propelled by hyperdrive.

“Again? _Again_? There was a kriffing _first _time?!”

Rose gaped up at him, then covered her eyes with one hand.

“She ... didn’t mention the shirtlessness, I take it? Finn, she didn’t _want _him to do that. He just sort of ... Finn? _Finn_!”

Finn didn’t hear Rose calling for him. He was out the door as the word ‘shirtlessness’ had been uttered. He rushed by a few Resistance members who gave him odd looks and a wide berth as he stormed by, gritting his teeth so hard that by the time he'd gotten to his bunkroom, he had a horrendous headache right behind his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note that I've gotten some disappointing comments claiming I am making Finn too angry at Rey and that I am fracturing Finnrey fandom by writing a story where Finn is not bending the knee to Rey in every little thing. Finn is a fully realized person who has feelings and beliefs. Maybe this is not how he'd respond to hearing about Rey's exploits with Kylo Ren in TLJ, but this is fiction. I'm not trying to say Finnrey is cancelled or that Rey is a horrible person. I will remove comment moderation for now because most of the people sending stuff have moved to another target. But if I get that sort of harassment again, I will not hesitate to put it back on.


	3. Song of Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Leia have a much needed talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but I will not continue this story. I'm sure people can guess why. I will post what I had of this chapter, which was to be titled Song of Solo. I may do something to vent my rage about the new movie, but it's more likely I'll just try to forget I ever joined this fandom :D
> 
> However, this story was too awesome to end like this. So, Raspberry allowed someone else to finish for him. I hope I, Pan_2000, won't disappoint you, dear rest of the readers. Expect update in two weeks at least, but it will continue!

Finn had been raised to structure his life around chain of command. There was no other alternative in the First Order. Very young Stormtroopers were siloed until they were “graduated” into the wider Stormtrooper program, but aside from them, the lives of everyone in the FO tied into who reported to whom. One of the first things a trooper learned was how their base commander differed from their missions commander who differed from their squadron commander—up the line to Hux, Kylo Ren, and Supreme Leader Snoke.

Stormtroopers were not expected to complain about anything at all, but there were rare occasions that a trooper tried to curry favor by informing on one of their comrades for some offense, such as taking an extra quik-pack, or fighting in the living pods, or dogging it during sims. But they couldn’t just go running to Hux and tattle. Jumping the queue in the chain of command could result in more than just being sent to bed without rations.

Finn recalled the story of a trooper in the DS corps who had noticed someone from their squadron squirreling away discarded droid parts and storing them under their bunk. Such a practice was considered stealing—a capital offense in the First Order. Not many few troopers wanted to see their comrades fragged. It brought down morale across the board, and really, who wanted to be _that _person who would be responsible for another’s death over something that often was a trifling matter?

But the trooper who spotted the theft had decided to report it anyway in hopes of reaping a better assignment. Unfortunately, the trooper told their squadron captain rather than their base commander, the first link in the chain of command. The guilty trooper and the purloined droid parts were discovered, and the trooper duly executed—but far from receiving a reward, not long afterward, the Stormtrooper who had turned in his squadron mate had been sent on a particularly precarious mission. Ultimately, he was left on an ice planet to slowly bleed to death after sustaining heavy injuries in a firefight.

Thus, the lesson was reinforced doubly—do not steal from the First Order, and if you see something amiss, report it correctly to the correct person. Or else.

The drumbeat of chain of command followed Finn into the Resistance. He’d quickly sussed out the pecking order and followed it diligently. The Poe Dameron who was his good friend, bunkmate and occasional sabacc partner was a different entity in his mind than the Commander Dameron who was in large part in charge of the entire Resistance as General Organa continued to heal from her injuries. As such, Finn didn’t run to Poe with problems or issues with other teams on the ship. Connix had been promoted to Captain and was in charge of Operations. Most of Black Squadron had become relief pilots for the Falcon after Ikkrukk, with Kare Kun in charge of making the duty rosters for piloting the Falcon. When Rose was fully recovered, she would be in charge of designing and repairing all materiel to be used in the field, so any issues in that regard should be reported to her initially.

As weapons officer and interim quartermaster, Finn assumed it would be likewise with him—he’d hear about any concerns before they reached Poe’s ears, let alone the General’s. Therefore, it came as a shock when, after a quiet day in which nothing of note happened except a messy backup in one of the freshers, Finn was asked to send his supply records straight to General Organa. Some hours later, he was summoned her personal quarters, which ratcheted up his anxiety.

Finn wasn’t sure what he could have done wrong, and more important, he couldn’t understand why—if he _had_ erred somehow—Poe hadn’t given him a head’s up or spoken to him about what the trouble was. It didn’t make sense that there would be a problem and Poe wouldn’t have known about it first. _Unless_ ... Leia had forbidden Poe from talking to him about it and giving him a hint that something was wrong.

That had happened once in the First Order to a trooper that had been a few years older than Finn. She’d unwittingly done something against regs, but hadn’t been reprimanded by her squadron captain, and so felt the matter had been deemed not serious. A few days later, however, the trooper was put garbage scow reclamation—one of the most disgusting duty shifts a trooper could pull—for the next three months. A superior officer had determined that what the trooper had believed to be a slight transgression _was _in fact, a big deal, and worthy of punishment. Being of a higher rank, the officer had barred that trooper’s squadron captain from telling her about it beforehand—all the better for the assignment to fall upon the hapless trooper like a load of duracrete the moment she’d thought she was safe.

As he marched toward Leia’s bunkroom like a trooper facing reconditioning, Finn forced himself to focus and clear his head. This was _not_ the First Order. Those at the very top in the Resistance were _not_ sadistic, malicious people who enjoyed wielding power over those helpless to resist them. Things were different here. Perhaps his views of the virtues of chain of command needed to be changed. Or perhaps not. At any rate, he knew that he had little reason to be afraid when he arrived to Leia’s quiet bunkroom on the other side of the Falcon’s storage bins. Nervous and curious, yes. But afraid, no. That was over.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked firmly on the door. He didn’t hear anything, but the door opened somewhat more quickly than he was used to experiencing on the Falcon. A sharp, pungent smell wafted out, and as he stepped into the small, somewhat overwarm space, his skin tingled.

He spotted Leia immediately, and stiffened to attention even before he realized what he was doing. But before he could open his mouth, she glanced at him and smiled, beckoning him toward her.

“Right on time, Finn. Come in. And please ... _relax._”

She was seated at a darkened terminal that was functioning as a makeshift desk. A flimsi was in her hand and a cup of something steamed at her elbow. As he drew closer, Finn realized the cup was the source of the scent.

Leia followed his glance and gave a slight shrug.

“Coralmoon-leaf infusion with ground hadeira blossoms. Three times a day—doctor’s orders.” She frowned into the cup. “It’s a brew Harter said a colleague from Pamarthe passed on to her. Will cure whatever ails you, apparently. But she never mentioned that it would taste and smell like Wookiee sweat.”

Finn decided very quickly that he did _not _want to know how the General knew what Wookiee sweat tasted like.

He sat in the chair she indicated and tried to be inconspicuous as he studied her. She’d been more or less confined to her quarters after being released from the Infirmary and had been well out of sight aside from _the briefing_. She met with Poe each day, sometimes twice daily, but Finn had not really had a chance to see Leia Organa up close until this moment. He saw pain lines around her eyes and livid scars on her neck. Burn-like wounds, which were covered with transparent bacta patches, spiraled up her arms, disappearing under the sleeves at the cap of her shoulders. She was sitting up straight, but there was a slight tremble in her limbs that made it seem as if it were something of an effort.

Finn noted all this and grimaced inwardly. If he had not seen with his own eyes what had happened after the attack on the Raddus, he would not have believed it. He remembered his naïve comment to Han Solo when they went to Starkiller Base to rescue Rey that they could use the Force to infiltrate the fortress. Han’s exasperated response to that had set Finn back on his heels, but he wondered what Solo would have said if he’d _seen _the Force at work, somehow preventing Leia from a certain death in the tombish cold of space.

He was trying not to stare, but Leia was perusing the flimsi again, and Finn didn’t want to interrupt. His eyes took in the rest of the space, and he was mildly surprised at how unremarkable it seemed. Aside from the doors working slightly better than other areas of the Falcon, there was nothing that made it stand out as the quarters of a general, the way Hux had gold braid and plush sarpedian wool carpeting in his.

Leia, looking up, giving no sign that she knew she was being scrutinized, except for a lopsided smile that Finn took to mean that she appreciated his unspoken concern.

“I’m impressed. Naar couldn’t have done a better job.” She shook the flimsi slightly. “_He _would have been very impressed, too, and not much impressed him.”

Finn heard the sadness underlying her words and lowered his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I wish I’d had the chance to know him.”

“He joined the Rebellion right before Endor.” Leia’s voice was gentle in the pull of the memory. “After the second Death Star was destroyed, he was offered a seat on the New Republic Council. He refused. Said he wanted to go back to Tibrin and raise his morloms and spend time with his family. But when I called on him to help the Resistance ... he didn’t hesitate.”

"Sounds like he didn't want power, just to live peacefully."

"Indeed. But he always put his personal gain aside to do what is right. He never gave up if it meant to save innocent people. This is a spirit of a true warrior. In the end... it cost him his life. But his sacrifice helped save us all. When you tried to do the same... You, Finn, reminded me of him. You make me proud. The Resistance needs role models like you. Promotion to Elite Sergeant. Along with the special promotions, you deserve an official rank, too. And the other promotions are now permanent. You earned it."

"Thank you, General. And I also bested one of the enemy's best troops. So... how was Naar's family?"

"Rose told me about Phasma. And you did a wonderful job. Before I tell you anything... I only ask you to look me in the eyes."

Finn is surprised. Hux was not like Leia, he would order Finn to stand on his knees, lower his head and then ask Phasma. Hux considered talking to Stormtroopers a waste of his precious time, for him they were worth less than his sensors and cameras. He could always take more children from their families to replace his fallen pawns. Phasma, too, didn't care about her troops at all. She would gladly shoot them in the back to save her skin. When Finn would ask about Slip's family, for example, Phasma would say that this is not his business and that the First Order is the only family of the Troopers. Only it was no family, but a factory farm breeding killing machines.

But here Leia not only is willing to talk about a comrade's family, but also enforces eye contact with everyone. Even those who don't fight in the front lines. For her, every lost soldier is an innocent who had loved ones. She grew even more sensitive when Tarkin blew up her home planet. As a result, even though she always had the spirit of a true leader, she hated solutions which would result in many dead people with hopes and dreams, even when these solutions are more effective in the long run. 

It was the reason she demoted Poe after his raid to the Dreadnought. She gave him an even better position than his original after Crait, because she realized he would be right in the long run. So, he was rewarded only in the long run. 

Finn had no problem looking Han, the hero, and Kylo, his enemy, in the eyes. He even managed to wound Kylo. He reminds himself of that and looks the General in her eyes without any fear.

"How was Naar's family?" Finn asks again.

"Quite a big one. His wife loved him. They knew each other since childhood. When she heard he was going to Endor, she was praying to the Force for him to be fine. He told her not to worry, that even if he died... The Galaxy would be free forever. And that it would be worth it. He risked his life to save an Ewok from three Stormtroopers and managed to beat all of them. He lived. He lived to see Palpatine's fall and the recreation of the New Republic. He also had five children. He looked after all of them. 

When he came to the Resistance, he assured his family he would survive again. That he didn't face the strongest legions of the Empire just to die forgotten to some remnants."

"He is not dying forgotten, General. I will make sure of that. I want to continue his legacy. I ask to make sure he lives in our hearts."

"If you manage to save the Galaxy, Naar will be proud of you. He and the other innocent, glorious dead depend on us now. They ask for justice.

Finn, I didn't promote you just so you can be in charge of something. You know I gave you more responsibilities. Your last mission was meaningless. I will give you your first task as an Elite Sergeant. Do you know the planet Tah'Nuk?"

"Yes. The First Order uses it to take Stormtroopers. Kylo also was looking for a Jedi Temple."

"Did he find it?"

"Never."

"Great. Your first mission is something you will like. Find the enemies who take children to form soldiers. Stop them at all costs."

Finn was outright enthusiastic. He was forced first to kill innocents as a Stormtrooper and refused. Then he was forced to kill his old comrades, who were the same as him, in self-defence. It was kill or be killed. He had no choice... but he regretted every single kill. He tried not to hurt his old comrade, Nines... but Nines was hurt by Finn's defection and did his best to kill him.

Thankfully, Han had no qualms about killing troopers. 

Now, the former slave had one chance to stop innocents from suffering the fate he had once. He _was not_ going to waste it.

Leia continues speaking. "Of course, you will need a pilot. And I need another warrior for an equally important mission." 

Finn's mind went to Poe. The best pilot, and Leia's second-in-command, he would probably do recruitments. What he heard, instead, made his heart ache.

"You see, Finn, I mentioned a Jedi Temple. I believe Rey should come with you, she is after all the last Jedi. The Force is very strong with her. A lot of raw, untamed power. I know because I have it too. And, in fact, I can sense it in... you."

Finn started sweating. "Uhm... General..." He lowered his head again.

"Please, Finn. Look me in the eyes. Don't be afraid of talking to me. Is there any problem? We are a team. A family. We share each other's concerns." 

Finn reluctantly did so. "You see, General... it is quite personal. There is a reason I want to distance myself from Rey. I heard what she did in Supermacy. She hurt me. She hurt me a lot." A tear flowed on his cheek. He nearly gave his life for her, to defend her from a murderer... and she decided to go touch hands with said murderer.

_**Why?**___

"I know what she did. She told me too. After all... it concerns not only my son, but the entire Resistance as well. So... what did your friends tell you? I am sure you asked them for advice." 

"They did their best. They told me they knew I was right. But they also adviced me to forgive her."

"What they said... is right. I am glad you chose to open up to me. I might be your General... but you can also treat me like a mother. I wonder... if I called you my son, would you be flattered or insulted?" 

"I would be a brother to the monster who nearly killed me. I am sorry, General. You are a great woman, but I have to politely say 'no'. It's not for you, I hope you understand."

"I do, Finn. My son did things. Terrible things. I lost my dear Han because of him. So did my father. But it's wrong to judge somebody because of their family. Because we Skywalkers had some of the best and some of the worst blossoms in the Galaxy. 

About Rey, I believe she did that mistake. She saw me and Han. And she thought that maybe some of our good has passed to our son. Ben. She saw her equal in the Force, and tried to bring him back. She believed it was the only way to save the Resistance."

Finn raised his voice a little. "That was insane! She went to her kidnapper of all people. It didn't make sense at all! There are victims in the ranks of the First Order. And Ben wasn't one of them!"

Leia stared right into his eyes. "Don't raise your voice. Please. Not because I am your General, but because it's not me where you should raise your voice. Calm down. Do you know how I know? She told me about that."

"Wh... what did you tell her?" 

"That I understood what she was doing. She wanted to help the Resistance... to help me. To make our family whole again... but I also told her what she did was wrong. She told me she figured out for herself, as that bond was not out of love. It was out of Snoke. I believe he wanted to know Luke's location... but also make Rey weak, make her trust a monster. 

I believe her actions are going to have consequences. I told her so. What she did could probably have led to the sacrifice of my brother. And it will probably lead to many more deaths. On the other hand, it might change things for the better. I heard about Snoke's demise. He corrupted my son. He will not be missed. One thing is sure. The war has changed, and I don't know about the direction it has changed. 

Finn, you are no longer in the First Order. You are now in the Resistance. Which means that you have far more freedom to make your own choices. Even question me. I will see it as an advice. If I reject it, I will tell you the reason you are wrong. And I might accept your advice if I overlooked something. Taking criticism improves me as a General. And it's the reason I will always judge you for your actions. 

So, tell me, Finn. Do you want Rey on your mission? Or do you think her presence will do anything to your feelings? Psychology is very important on missions and I don't want you to fail because of something I did. You are free to choose, and you have the full responsiblity."

Finn was torn between accepting and refusing.

Leia sensed his turmoil. "I do not want to press you. If you can't decide now, I give you one day to think. I would like to give you more time, but we have no more. If we are too late, the First Order will get there first and take all the children. 

Yes, I shouldn't say that so casually. You know how terrible it is. Anyway, take a decision and may the Force be with you."

"And with you, Leia." 

Finn leaves the room. He needs to make a choice and be sure he won't regret it. And there is one last person who could help him decide about Rey. And he has to talk to them in order to make his final decision.

Rey herself. 

_He is no longer in the First Order. He can make his own choices. He is free to choose. He has full responsibility._ Leia's words ring into his ears. 

He can make a choice. And he does. 

"I have to talk to Rey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucasfilm fucked up. It really did. I hope it enjoys its fandom full of racists and abuse apologists! It's been real.
> 
> But Kylo is burning in a fiery pit and Lucasfilm set Finn up to have a much better arc in the future. Stay strong, Finnreys, we still have a chance to triumph! May the Force be with you. 
> 
> And, btw, I will stay true to the original author's story, who gave me the summary, I will only add something that will kick what was wrong with Episode 9 out of this timeline. Raspberry will still be in charge, as the beta reader/publisher/guide. I will just follow the instructions and write the rest of the story. Maybe with some additions!
> 
> Moreover, I found the reason Rey turned to Kylo after everything. It is... (drum roll) poor writing! What? You expected something else?
> 
> This chapter is finally complete. Next up, the moment you are all waiting for! 
> 
> So, I am back, and this story is too!


	4. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Rey resolve their issue... or at least try to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The moment you are all waiting for! 
> 
> Disney, I would like to present you a story of the true love of the Sequel Trilogy. No kidnapping, no scars in the face, no mind invading, no manipulation, no supernatural bonds which try to patch bad writing, only pure affection.
> 
> To dear readers, I hope this did not disappoint you just because I am not the original author!
> 
> Edit: I will also halt this story. For good. And, in fact, believe the Dyad Rey had with Kylo is the most holy, beautiful and unique thing in history of Star Wars. A research from the site www.fulyuha.com showed me why Reylo was a wise choice.

Finn's brain was full of thoughts. "How should I approach Rey? Should I try to fake tolerance? Should I just be honest? Yes, I lied once, ashamed for something that wasn't even my fault. Never again."

Besides, he knew raw honesty would probably make Rey understand much more his position. He stopped hesitating and started looking for Rey. He almost ran from his responsibilities once. If he never came back, Rey would have been captured or dead. By living up to his lie only, he was the one who indirectly saved her life and freedom. He was not going to run now. Never again.

He eventually found Rey alone in the Falcon. She was holding her head. 

"As I said, you are nothing, and I will make you something. Your place is by my side." 

Rey screamed to someone who was't even there. "GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" 

Finn doesn't leave. "Rey! REY! WHAT'S WRONG?"

Rey looks at him. "Not you! You stay!" 

The voice of temptation keeps talking to Rey. "You know I can take what I want."

Rey shuts him off. Then she turns to Finn.

"Uhm... hi. What do you want?" 

"It's... uuugh... something very important. And private."

Rey's face was red. She had the feeling she knew what he was going to tell her.

"I am willing to listen. But where do you believe nobody will hear us, Finn?" 

Rey saying his name made his heart beating faster and harder. As he played the response in his mind again and again, the rate of his heartbeat kept increasing.

"I... I suggest the dejarik table." Finn manages to say.

Rey shrugged her shoulders. "Fair enough."

After they are alone, Finn's blood is boiling. He is about to talk with the passion of thousand suns. 

"_Why, Rey?_"

No answer. 

"Listen. On Jakku, the first thing I did when I saw you in danger was to rush and protect you. You did take care of yourself, but I still did my best. Later, we escaped from the First Order together, we fought for each other's lives. 

On Takodana, you were kidnapped by that Kylo filth. I was considering to run. I didn't know I was a hero. But I sensed so many planets destroyed. Many innocents died that day. He was watching with no remorse. I freaked out. I had to come back. Back for you. 

I saw you getting kidnapped by Kylo. He carried you to his ship. I did my best to save your precious life. Not only did I bring a lightsaber, knowing I was in danger, and fought Kylo, I even injured him."

Finn removes his top, showing his scar. "But I got this trying to defend you from him. He killed his father. He nearly killed me because I wanted to help you. 

Why, Rey? Why did you go to him?"

Rey could see him about to cry. But he held back his tears. He was right. He was right and she knew it. 

"Listen, Finn... I am sorry. What I did was a grave mistake and I won't argue about that. But I did it for the Greater Good, Finn." His name was like heaven to her lips. She truly felt home close to him. 

"I was with Luke in Ahch-To wanting answers. To see my place in all of this. But Luke wasn't the legend I expected. He was broken. Bitter. Didn't give me a single answer. 

Then Snoke made an artificial bond between me and that murderous snake. The first time, I wanted to shoot him with my blaster. Shame that he was not there to feel it. But I had nobody there. I was feeling alone. 

I wanted someone to show me love and appreciation."

"You have someone! You have ME! But you trusted that MONSTER, that MURDEROUS SNAKE instead! Why?" Finn had lost control, but he couldn't be calm any longer. 

Rey keeps explaining. "But I also did it for the good of the Galaxy. Kylo was powerful. I could sense his conflict. I believed I could change him... I believed he would be a massive help for the Resistance. And if he did help the Resistance... there would be far more of a chance for it to still be standing. More of a chance... for me to see you again.

Indeed, he killed Snoke. He killed the one responsible for the false bond we had. Only to take his place. He told me I was nothing, and only he could make me something. I realized at that moment... that there was nothing romantic between me and him. 

And in the end, he saw me closing the door at him. Our connection wasn't clear. In Ahch-To, I was desperate for help. Any help. I couldn't see through Kylo's lies then. I can now."

"I did have a beacon, though. It could guide you home. I almost went to warn you for any traps... was called selfish and a traitor. But you know something? I was always scum. Rebel scum. I didn't just kill Phasma, my abusive boss. I destroyed her. You had no idea... but I was the one who always had your back." 

Rey tried to touch his hand.

"No. I don't want to be treated like him."

Rey understood. He had every right to be angry. She was trembling now. Something inside her was burning red-hot. This was all her fault. She shouldn't have been so gullible. 

"Finn... I am sorry. I understand. Can we... still be friends?" 

"Not yet. But I have a mission. It is very suitable for you... it involves Jedi Artifacts. You might make mistakes, but you are still strong with the Force. I would like you to join the mission."

Rey blushed. "R... really? You still care about me?" 

"I am doing this not to fix anything between us. I am doing this for the Greater Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you ask me about TROS, it was mostly good, but two scenes were godawful. The gratitude kiss that of course had no passion, it was the thing that made most sense having no passion at all, and that scene where Rey pushed Finn away with the Force. He came all the way, overcoming lethal situations probably, to save your skin, Rey, and you do this as gratitude? And then Disney has him scream your name like HE is not worthy of you? No, Disney, no. In my humble opinion, Finn is actually above her.
> 
> I delayed a lot bc 1) Writer's block, 2) Not enough free time and 3) Can't write too much without being upset, because I could really feel Finn.
> 
> Not over yet! I will add something more... the mission... and will have the original author's question about the female villain!
> 
> Shoutout to Finnreyfitzsimonshipper, who by mistake credited me for this story and inspired me to continue it, and of course Raspberry_Blond, who gave me his guidance so I would not stray from his vision! And his return in the comment section yesterday put me out of the writer's block for this one!
> 
> Edit: APRIL FOOLS! Did you really believe what I wrote in the notes above in the latest edit? About Reylo? The "site" should be your first clue! And also, this story will continue! May the Force be with you!


	5. Don't Tell Me the Odds (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still angry at Rey, Finn invites her on the mission.
> 
> But when he faces a similar temptation to Rey's, will he stand tall where Rey fell?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there and welcome to the finale! 
> 
> Finn knows that what Rey did was foolish. But what if the roles were reversed? Would he be true to his word? Raspberry did put that question, so I am going to put Finn to the test. This is the big relevance of the premise here. 
> 
> Also, warning: This has less drama, but also has a battle scene.

Finn and Rey were on the Millenium Falcon, along with Chewbacca, travelling to Tah'Nuk. 

If not for what happened on Supermacy, Finn and Rey would be talking all the time. About the mission, about what they endured, about what they felt for each other.

Now, there was only dead silence. Finn was calm and seemed only to think about the people he would save. He would probably still be called a selfish, cowardly traitor. He would be called scum. But he didn't care. 

He saw Phasma dying. Her insults didn't work on him. He exposed her for what she was. Maybe history would ignore this and show that he wasn't worthy of being a hero. 

He did not care. He thought he was worthless when he lost to Kylo. Now, after his triumph over Phasma, he knew he wasn't. 

Chewbacca was the one who broke the silence. He roared a bit to Finn. But he wasn't Rey. He couldn't understand the Wookie. He only understood it was a message from Rey. What could it be? 

He did still care, but only out of curiosity. He wasn't perfect, and that gave him every excuse to try and improve. That's why he did his best to understand the Wookie.

He failed. Oh well, he would try again later.

Rey was puzzled. She wanted to break the silence herself. But was afraid to say something. Anything. She was feeling embarrassed for leaving the man who protected her for the monster who tried to use her.

She can remember Snoke mocking her. "A spirit of a true Jedi!"

She has her fair experience with abusers. They will hide insults behind their mocking compliments. They will hide their awful personalities with good looks and sweet words. The way Snoke called her and Ben, no, _Kylo,_ children, the way Kylo said "you are nothing, but not to me" , the way Unkar told her he was a parent...

Finn never needed to tell her that. His actions spoke much louder than any words. 

After all, she might have given her hand to Kylo, but she had hugged Finn and even kissed him. He saw it. She left a hologram.

But, as they landed, Rey turned to him. "W... Want to come with me? For the artifacts?"

Finn, without even looking at her eyes, responded. "No. There are children in danger. Innocent souls who will be kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming killers without names or personalities. Ripped from their families. While you keep thinking of the poor, innocent mastermind of these actions, or at least his successor, because it was Snoke's fault, I am going to speak for the actual victims!"

Rey lowered her head and left for the artifact. Chewbacca could understand Basic. Since Finn would encounter more danger and Rey was stronger, the Wookie decided to help the former Stormtrooper with his bowcaster. 

Finn has kept his blaster, and also the Riot Baton that he wielded against Captain Phasma. She was tough enough, and actually survived the first blow to the head. But Finn exposed her actions, forcing her to kill her own troops and breaking her right arm. Then he got a heavy blaster strong enough to finish her off. After his defeat against Kylo, he really needed to punish one of his abusers and enjoyed every moment of it. This baton was his melee weapon until he became good with a saber, and also a trophy! 

He put his blaster to stun mode. "Chewie, try to avoid killing if possible. My blaster can stun targets now for three hours."

Chewbacca made a disapproving roar. 

"Only the Stormtroopers should be spared. If you see officers, Death Troopers or turrets, blow them the heck up."

Chewbacca gave him a thumbs up then.

Finn had a feeling. Something helped him pinpoint the exact location of the target. Was it his instinct? His training in the First Order? 

He wasn't initially too interested in the Resistance. But this mission was personal. He and Chewbacca rushed there without any delay. 

They hid, in an attempt not to be spotted. But there were two automatic turrets with cameras. 

"It's no use sneaking past them. On three, you blow them up and I charge to save these children!"

"Rawr!",

"One...

Two...

Three!"

As Chewbacca easily destroyed the turrets with his heavy weapon, Finn rushed forward and saw armed Stormtroopers threatening families with their blasters. Some of them took babies by force. These used to be those babies. 

Someone had to stop this. 

Being calm enough beforehand, he knew he would get pissed seeing this. So, he put his weapon to stun beforehand. Now he started shooting at the troopers, who had three incapacitated before returning fire. The Stormtroopers weren't so good shots, but Finn was one of the best, and managed to only miss one shot, while avoiding all enemy fire. They didn't have to be killed, but they definitely had to be stopped. 

A brave Stormtrooper spotted him a drew a Riot Baton. "Traitor!"

"Savior." 

The two use their batons to duel. As the weapons clashed, Finn remembered Takodana. He felt a bit worthless after that, and now he was getting some payback. The Stormtrooper did a vertical strike, aiming for the head. But the black warrior easily parried it and struck his stomach, knocking him down. Then he shot the trooper with a stun bolt.

The commanding officer was trying to rip a baby from the arms of a mother. When she held her child closer, he slapped her. But she didn't let go of the baby. So, he pulled a blaster and aimed it at the woman's face. 

Chewbacca was delighted. Because Finn allowed him to kill the officers. He immediately ripped the officer's right arm off and then broke his scull with a single punch. Then he knocked two Stormtroopers unconscious with his fists. 

Little did the duo know, a hooded figure was watching them from the top of a hill. Their coat was black, while they had two lightsaber hilts. 

Meanwhile, Rey pinpointed the temple with the Force. It's in a deep forest. The Skywalker lightsaber was broken, but she still had her staff and the Force, as well as a blaster. 

However, she got in the temple second. 

The Death Troopers had maps, scanners, compasses and very good training, and so they could easily find the location of the temple too. Apparently, Kylo was very interested in the artifact too, and his humiliation by Luke made him vow to destroy all the Jedi. 

Finn's talk with Rey opened her eyes. Now she saw Kylo as she did on Starkiller, his true colors. A monster, who knew only taking. 

The Troopers spotted the Scavenger. "This is the last Jedi! The Supreme Leader needs her alive! For the Supreme Leader!" 

They open fire at her and she takes cover behind the walls of the temple. She closed her eyes and lifted a big rock, striking a trooper square in the chest. His lifeless body fell to the ground, while four of them retaliate with cover fire. A Death Trooper drew a detonator and put the safety off. Then he threw it at Rey. She sensed it, lifted it with the Force and threw it away. Then she left her cover and shot a trooper in the chest, but got a blaster bolt in the arm. 

"Damn it. If I didn't make those mistakes, I would have friends right now to help me!"

Said friends were still helping the families defend their children. Some angry parents, seeing the way the two rebels fought, punched, kicked and threw rocks at the soldiers, distracting them. 

Two Death Troopers fired at Chewbacca and they even hit his leg. He winced in pain, but with one shot from his bowcaster he obliterated both of them. 

A First Order officer and a Stormtrooper are about to shoot at the crowd and take the children, but Finn patted the shoulder of the officer. "Hello there!"

The officer turned and met the Riot Baton of Finn in his face. The Stormtrooper aimed at him, but he grabbed his arm and twisted it, disarming the trooper. "These children used to be you. Stop."

"W... What do you mean?"

"The First Order are kidnapping children, buddy. You were taken from your family and taught to do what they did to you. If you hurt these children, you hurt yourself. These families could be yours. Stop this. Stop this now."

And he left the trooper alone with his thoughts. The Stormtrooper could do nothing. He turned to the families for a moment. "I am sorry. For all of you. I am sorry." Then he ran away.

The hooded figure jumped down. And removed their hood to reveal a woman. "Impressive."

Finn stunned the rest of the Stormtroopers and turned to her. She had blue eyes, long straight blonde hair and white skin, though not too pale. 

Finn, for a moment, stared at her chest. Unlike Rey, this woman was quite busty. 

But he brushed the thought. Rey did fall for this trick. He did call her out. _He can't judge anyone if he falls for it too.___

_ _ "Who are you?" he asked, gripping his baton in both hands. _ _

_ _ "My name is Kreia Ren... the second in command of the Knights... and future Supreme Leader."_ _

_ _ "Future Supreme Leader? I thought all of you were loyal to Kylo Ren."_ _

_ _ Kreia frowned. "I was only loyal to Supreme Leader Snoke. The Order is ruled by a psychopathic manchild, who cares about himself and power only. I saw the way you inspired that Stormtrooper to stop. Did you mind trick him?" _ _

_ _ "No. I don't tamper with the free will of innocents. I simply told him the truth. And no officer could scare him. The Stormtroopers are victims. What do you want?" _ _

_ _ "Your help. Your help to bring the man who scarred your back and took all the love you deserved down. Do it. If not for me, do it because you hate him." _ _

_ _ She removed her coat, leaving herself only with her armor. Kylo managed to manipulate Rey using his body. Kreia would attempt the same. _ _

_ _ Finn started sweating. _ _

_ _ "Come on!" Kreia told him. "Without me, your chance to bring justice is slim to none!"_ _

_ _ "Don't tell me the odds."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Forced Bond ceased to exist after a little in this verse, bc it's only made by Snoke. In this series, Palpatine died in the Battle of Endor and the continuation is, after Raspberry's permission, The Dimensional War. Where Kylo... Let's say he does not get whitewashed. The connections here, though, aside from Kreia Ren and the Stormtrooper Rebellion, are not much. 
> 
> It's still not over! Finn's second big decision (and development for his relationship with Rey) will come next chapter! 
> 
> Also, I know I am very pathetic for this, but as I was thinking of Finn's treatment in canon today, I cried. I actually cried. Please tell me if I am giving him justice! If so, it will really make me feel better.
> 
> Shoutout to Snark Noir, who was the one who truly had this idea. Kreia doesn't make her debut here, in fact she was created over a year before! Stay tuned for Finn's choice!
> 
> TO BE CONCLUDED...


	6. Don't Tell Me the Odds (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey realizes she needs to trust not just somebody, but the right people. 
> 
> Finn is tempted at his lowest point. Will he yield?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The final tests, and even a surprise in the end! Will Finn succeed where Rey failed?

"Why should I trust you, Kreia? You probably hurt a lot of people in the name of Snoke." Finn asked.

"At least I am more trustworthy than the killer with the pretty face and the false Jedi who would fall for the pretty face after seeing him in action."

"And how are you sure about that?" 

"Well, can you be lower than the bottom?" 

Finn thought about it. She might have a point about Rey's actions, but this wasn't only about Rey. Innocent lives are in danger because of the First Order. They would become slaves if he didn't interfere, just like he once was. And he could not trust one of the slavers more than one of his friends. 

"No. I still can't trust someone loyal to the man behind the constant kidnappings of children. The one who helped a child of heroes become the vilest being in the Galaxy!" 

"You might have a point about the Stormtroopers, Eighty-Seven. But don't blame my grandfather for Kinslayer taking his place and becoming worse."

Finn looked at the Knight, startled. Snoke had a granddaughter? "You... he..."

"Indeed, my boy." Kreia removed a glove to stroke Finn's left cheek. "What did you think? That the entire First Order leadership had betrayed their own family?"

"N... No. But could you please stop touching me? I have been kissed by a girl I didn't love not long ago and had other problems with women, so I feel a bit uncomfortable around them."

"Look, most of the First Order tries to kill you right now. And I am one of the biggest heads there, the second Knight of Ren. So, be grateful I just want to touch your face."

He started stepping backwards, but the female Knight stopped him with the Force. 

"What's wrong? I can feel your emotions right now, Eighty-Seven. Did I hurt you?"

Finn stared at her. "Yes. You did. You are loyal to the man who ruined the childhoods of me and many other babies. You are one of the people in charge. And if you believe your breasts are enough for me to overlook everything you have done, you are approaching the wrong rebel."

Kreia smirked. She had just found his weak point. 

She would not apply just to lust. She would also apply to pride.

"Happy to hear you are not so easy to manipulate. Happy to hear you will not just overlook what I am and do, and will not forget your friends because of my appearance. Sadly, some of your "friends" are much easier and much more... shallow than you. Don't you think you deserve much better than them?

Oh yes, I can feel where you are angry at. Rey defending our _poor, dear, precious_ Supreme Leader! He did order you to murder the villagers and you refused, huh? And Rey would rather trust him instead of you?"

She cupped his face gently, knowing he needed someone to show him some affection. The affection he could not stop giving.

"And the worst part isn't that. It's that your rebel friends, the ones who killed many Troopers like you, see Rey as their beacon of hope instead of you. But I am not Rey and I am not Kylo. I know how much you really matter. I know you are not nothing. Join me, Eighty-Seven. You will no longer be a Stormtrooper, but a Major, able to express your opinion to me and General Hux. You will even be allowed to keep your name. The innocents you are defending may never recognise you and look up to murderers and their defenders. I am not that ungrateful.

Show some sense."

Her face showed genuine emotion. "Please, Finn."

Meanwhile, Rey managed to take out the last Death Trooper. Then she entered the Jedi Temple. 

The common traps were easy for her. Blaster bolts seemingly from nowhere, an invisible missile which she sensed and deflected with the Force, an electric floor the girl jumped over. 

However, these were just warm-ups. 

A figure with a crossguard lightsaber emerged from a green fog. "Hello, scavenger." 

"Hello, _Ben._" 

"Seems like I got here first, Rey. If not for your interference, I would have got the Artifact by now. But I sensed you, Scavenger. I saw that you could hinder my plans to eliminate the Jedi. 

"You saw very well."

"But you are the perfect pawn, Rey. Really. All thanks to you, I overthrew that abusive geezer, Snoke. All thanks to you, I was able to present myself as a victim, pretend I had more value than the villages I ordered to be destroyed. All thanks to you, I am Supreme Leader. All thanks to you, Luke is dead. 

You are nothing, Rey. Absolutely nothing. But not to me. To me, you are the woman who made all my dreams possible. 

And for that, I will offer you a place in my new Empire. Let's do away with Jedi and Sith and start a new order. We will create true Balance in the Force."

Rey had had her talk with Finn and realized a lot. Her actions would not bring Balance. Giving this murderous snake more value than civilians is not grey. It's nothing but Dark. She remembered his words. 

_You are nothing, but not to me._

How did she believe he was innocent, while she _saw_ him murdering people and abusing her, she had no idea. 

Kylo offered her his hand. "Give me your hand, and I will give you everything you desire."

Without hesitation, Rey extended her hand. She gave it to him... straight into his face, closed into a fist. 

"I want someone who will truly love me, not you!"

And Kylo became green mist.

A voice echoed in the room. **"You are no longer weak to the Darkness. You are worthy of advancing."**

Rey smiled.

Meanwhile, Finn was thinking about Kreia's offer. She stroked him as gently as possible as he was thinking. 

"You left an army that abused you for what? An army that abused you? Forget the Resistance. After you join me, you can treat the Stormtroopers as humanely as you want." 

Finn was thinking about it. Kreia didn't degrade him as much as Kylo degraded Rey. He didn't see her being as mean to the Troopers as him. She even told Phasma once to stop sending Troopers to Kylo's airlock, but Kylo himself put his saber to her throat and reminded her that he was in charge and Snoke had no problem with this.

On the other hand, she was still a Knight of Ren. She was leading the forces that ripped children from their families, had many fathers and mothers killed, and was in very good terms with Hux and Snoke, who ruined the lives of half the Galaxy and destroyed Hosnian Prime.

"I am sorry... I am afraid I can't."

"What?" 

"I can't join you, Kreia. The First Order needs to be destroyed. The Stormtroopers need to have normal lives. To be treated as people. Not to be forced to kill and be killed. 

You did nothing when Hux destroyed Hosnian Prime. I helped Rey defeat Kylo. I faced my own fears and corrected my mistakes. 

You are better than Kylo Ren. But this does not mean you are good. Good luck with your schemes. 

You did a big mistake, Kreia. You hurt families."

"You don't even know them! What do you expect to gain from defending them?" 

"People not suffering my childhood."

Kreia got angry. She fired a bolt of Force Lightning, but Finn easily dodged it. Then he fired his blaster at her. 

He had set the blaster to kill as he was talking. The Troopers were innocent, but she was guilty. 

Kreia drew a red lightsaber and blocked the bolts. 

"Oh, handsome, forgot to tell you... my grandfather trained me a lot." 

Finn equipped his Riot Baton and blocked her quick saber attack.

The lightsaber and the baton clashed again and again. Kreia was impressed. For a little Stormtrooper, he was fighting really well. She was toying with him, sure, but he didn't seem to go down easily. 

She managed to knock him down with a kick and grab his face with her free hand. "Most Stormtroopers would be dead by this point. Even Nines would be defeated, and he was one of our best melee specialists." 

Then Chewbacca fired his bowcaster. 

Kreia pushed Finn away and then dodged the shot with a backflip. He was surprised she actually saved him, but Rey had told him about Kylo. Maybe she found him useful. 

The female Knight of Ren turned to Chewbacca and zapped him with Force Lightning. He was knocked down, but was tough enough to survive. 

"CHEWIE!" Finn charged with a newfound fury at Kreia, forcing her on the defensive. He couldn't bring himself to hurt innocents, and wasn't so profecient with a saber. Otherwise, he would have destroyed Nines in Takodana.

Kreia was way beyond Phasma, but she still struggled against the Resistance hero. In the end, Finn parried three blows and struck her torso hard, knocking her down. 

She knew she had to go all-out if she wanted to win. She forced Finn into locking their weapons. Then she winked at him, distracting him for a second, and drew a second saber, stabbing Finn in the torso, but missing vital organs. Then she used the other saber to send the Z-6 Control Baton far from Finn's reach.

As he fell to his knees, she stroked his hair. "You are better than I thought! I knew how to stay in the shadows, but also how to fight ferociously. In all these years, not once did I feel threatened. 

You might have exposed and killed that fraud, Phasma, but she was so beneath me I still didn't expect to have to fight seriously against you.

But you still lost, young one. I am going to take you with me."

"No. You are not." 

Rey had appeared with the Artifact. 

"Rey?" 

"Well, you always come back for me, Finn... always want to protect others. I wanted to come and find you and Chewie... now I see a chance to atone for my mistakes." 

She charged at Kreia, but the Knight parried with both sabers. "You left him for a murderous snake, you shallow Sithspit. And you have the nerve to show your face to him?" 

"I did a mistake. And I am now atoning for it." 

The two were fighting to a standstill as Finn remembered the time of the stun. He then started telling the stunned Troopers about how they are people and not expendable, and that he refused to kill them.

Rey's saberstaff blocked both lightsabers of Kreia. 

"You think Finn would like to see you after this? You saw Kylo's chest and immediately forgot how he acted towards you and others. Speaking about chests, I believe I am really beyond you in that department." Indeed, Kreia was quite proud of her bosom, and for good reason.

Rey gritted her teeth and injured Kreia in her right shoulder. Then she kicked her hard enough to make her drop the red sabers. 

But Kreia had one more trick. Force Lightning. She electrocuted Rey, who was never trained to block this technique. 

"You will never be a real Jedi! You are gullible, arrogant, pathetic!" 

But Rey's efforts made Finn warmer towards her. He still didn't completely forgive her, but was more willing to give her another chance now. With all the energy he had left, unarmed, he charged at Kreia and extended his right hand. 

"Kreia, STOP!" 

To the surprise of both him and the women, Kreia was sent backwards, flying. She didn't have time to defend herself, being too focused on Rey. 

Finn looked at his right hand. Could he... 

Rey grabbed his other hand. Chewie helped himself to his feet. 

"I have the Artifact. The families have obviously escaped! We won! RUN!" 

As they were running, Kreia managed to get up. And the stunned troopers started moving again. 

"Stop this operation. The strongest foes of us are fleeing right now. I want you to kill them. Except for the Traitor. I want him alive and in one piece." 

But the Troopers start having second thoughts. "He told us to think for ourselves. He spoke like we were friends." 

"There are no friendships in the First Order." 

The Troopers surrounded Kreia. "We want to know our families. Our real families. We are doing nothing if you don't comply." 

Kreia could take all of them on normally. But she was exhausted and injured. She lowered her head. "Let's return to the main base." 

Meanwhile, in the Falcon, Finn told Rey how he stopped the Troopers from ripping children from their families and how he resisted Kreia's offers. But also how he lost his Riot Baton. 

Rey smiled at him and touched his shoulder. "Don't worry. The artifact is a Kyber Crystal... and, after today, I believe you deserve it. I would love to know how possible is for you to become a Jedi..." 

"Don't tell me the odds."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed the "extend hand" scene. Really.
> 
> That was all, folks! I hope the fight was satisfying and I was worthy to continue and finish this great story! 
> 
> Opinions about Kreia Ren? 
> 
> Please leave me feedback, hopefully I did not disappoint!
> 
> Special thanks to the other contributors:
> 
> Snark noir! Your idea was brilliant and allowed me to use an OC and the mission that was originally only implied!  
Finnreyfitzsimmonshipper! For inspiring me to continue this story with a misunderstanding and encouraging me in all my stories!  
And especially Raspberry_Blond, the one behind the story in the first place, who set high standards for me to follow and allowed me to finish what he started!
> 
> And thanks to the others for the positive feedback, it really warms my little heart!


End file.
